# Better Piping: The Head Bone's Connected to the Neckbone



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

OK you rookies! Wake up! It's all connected, one thing to the other.

When you're learning how to smoke a pipe or, as everyone says, when you're in that "be patient" period, it's easy to miss how it all comes together. Well, it all comes together for those who pay attention and, for most of us, it won't happen overnight. This is a glace at the order of things; I don't think there is that much of a priority of one thing over another - if one part fails then the rest of it gone right may not make up the difference.

1. A well chosen pipe (including a $5.00 cob over and above a certain $35.00 basket briar soaked with varnish loaded with stain in the bowl and a poorly located airhole) will draw easily and take a pipe cleaner from end-to-end without a battle. The wrong pipe can make everything else be a bit more of a struggle. And don't forget - even the best of pipes may smoke a little hotter and a little wetter until broken in with some of that fine cake folks talk about. Cake builds slowly; if you start with a new pipe then you have to earn it.

2. Pipe tobak, neither too wet nor too dry (be patient - you'll figure it out) needs to be stuffed into a bowl with some degree of precision. Too wet a tobak might gurgle you to death and too dry a tobak might incinerate your mouth. Either way, the right amount of moisture in a tobak makes the whole thing go better. My experience is, too wet is the worst. When you pinch a bit it mostly ought to spring back and recover a good deal of it's natural looseness.

3. You have to stuff a pipe with some concept that the stuffing is, to a great degree, setting the stage for the whole show. Whatever packing method you pick it's a sure thing that, badly done, it'll affect the quality of the smoke that follows. You can read scads of stuff about how to pack a pipe but, whichever method you select, stick with it and get it right. Let the final pack allow for an easy draw; jamming a bowl tight will not execute as a good smoke - it will make you suck your lips off, which is bad. Too loose a pack can be tamped into submission; too tight a pack is a waste of time - forget about that pointy thingie on the pipe tool to correct for smooshing 10# of tobacco in a 5# bowl. The reward of a well-packed pipe is immediately obvious upon lighting.

4. Lighting smoke-ready tobak in a well packed pipe will have some quick, obvious results - an easy ignition and an even light across the top of the bowl. You have pretty much arrived when you've stuffed a pipe and set fire to it with resulting easy light and even burn. No splotchy start, no crescent moons, no orange ring with a dark center (or orange center surrounded by an dark ring). An evenly lighted pipe (following a good pack, following selection of properly moist tobacco, stuffed in a well-chosen pipe) will probably burn evenly to the bottom - no battles to prevent one side of the pipe from getting hot while the other side is cold.

5. A well lighted pipe, following everthing else, will need little tamping and virtually no correction. Tamping, as described by EvanS should "collapse" the ash stack rather than compact it. This collapsing thing is a great observation - it means that the tobacco has not overexpanded on down in the pipe during the smoke, thus it was properly moist and evenly/correctly packed from the get-go. Less tamping thru a smoke is a good sign that all the precusors were in order. A well burned bowl of tobak with no more tamping than necessary will create a cooler smoke and more cake.

6. Welcome to fish hook. Probably nothing much left in the bowl except ash. Sure, dottle happens, but when it all comes together more of your smokes will end with a gentle tap (to remove the remaining ash) than not. There are less gobs of gooey dottle to gouge out with the scraper when the knee bone is properly connected to the leg bone.

It's a process. Each thing depends on the other for the most enjoyable pipe smoke of your life. As you start to experiment with pipe smoking don't lose the forest in the trees and imagine it's all about stuffing leaves in a pipe. It is a more delicate and coordinated activity then that. If you sweat the details without getting too weird about it then everything falls into place. There is a very nice light at the end of the tunnel.


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## Slow Triathlete (Jun 14, 2007)

Nicely put. In words that only you could string together!!


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## Crunkleton (Jul 14, 2008)

Awesome... 

I'm pretty new to pipe-smoking and it gets better with each smoke; as I break int he pipe and get a feel for the tobacco moisture/bowl packing thing. 

Good stuff, I love pipe smoking! p


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Slow Triathlete said:


> Nicely put. In words that only you could string together!!


Thanks Scott. I used to just string words together in free association without punctuation or caps but Joe (Mad Hatter) is way into the appreciation and use of commas so following his good example I started using them after a while just for the fun of it and now they've become almost, well, second nature.

Yeah but... it can be troublesome to smoke a pipe for the first time. Or the first week, or month, or two. Like the perfect golf swing or a well BBQ'd rack of ribs, the great conclusion demands a sequence of well executed subset activities not always obvious to the casual onlooker.

I have attempted, while BARELY speaking in tongues, to illuminate the sequence of heretofore super-secret subset activities for the novice pipers and pipettes who wander these hallways. Poor bastards. :r


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Mister Moo said:


> It is a more delicate and coordinated activity then that. If you sweat the details without getting too weird about it then everything falls into place. There is a very nice light at the end of the tunnel.


Nicely put Dan. My mad hat is off to you. Funny you should mention me because I was about to rib you for abusing the word then and ignoring the word than. (Excuse me please. I was an english major before life set me on an altered course)

Anyway, its not so complicated. When I learned my 13yo nephew had taken up cigarettes I gave him a pipe and a tin of C&D. I showed him how to pack and made sure to tell him to put some air down there with the tobacco. A month later he was back asking for another tin. Now if a kid can do it..................


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## Cheeto (May 10, 2007)

Moo I think your way explaining things comes from some magical element you've found in coffee. 

great post :tu


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## Silky01 (Jul 16, 2007)

I thought this was going to be an anatomy lesson?


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Cheeto said:


> Moo I think your way explaining things comes from some magical element you've found in coffee.


Or mojitos?

Sorry about those then/thans, Joe. Darn spelt checker is goof fur Nanking.


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## Sovereign (Jun 17, 2008)

I still can't get the hang of packing and lighting right. I've done a good bit of reading and tried various ways to pack and light but just can't seem to get it right. Any advice?


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Sovereign said:


> I still can't get the hang of packing and lighting right. I've done a good bit of reading and tried various ways to pack and light but just can't seem to get it right. Any advice?


Its better to pack too loosely than too tightly. Try crumbling up your tobacco then gravity fill your bowl until it is full. Tap the side of the pipe with your hand until the tobacco settles then gravity fill again. Push the tobacco until the top is level but below the rim and then light it. Have you tried that yet?


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## Sovereign (Jun 17, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> Its better to pack too loosely than too tightly. Try crumbling up your tobacco then gravity fill your bowl until it is full. Tap the side of the pipe with your hand until the tobacco settles then gravity fill again. Push the tobacco until the top is level but below the rim and then light it. Have you tried that yet?


I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but I've tried something similar. I generally use the method explained in the Pipe 101 sticky. So far it's worked the best for me, but this and every other method I've tried will not stay lit or burn evenly.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Sovereign said:


> I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but I've tried something similar. I generally use the method explained in the Pipe 101 sticky. So far it's worked the best for me, but this and every other method I've tried will not stay lit or burn evenly.


Maybe you can try drying some tobacco really dry and see how that goes. Also for me, a layer of cake makes a big improvement because it doesn't leech away the heat from your tobac the way an uncaked chamber will. Also it could be the drilling on your pipe. Does the airway where it enters the chamber sit at a level with the bottom of the chamber. Is the airway an open draw or is it tight enough you can hear the airflow? Also does the airway where it leaves the shank sit in line with the airway where it enters the stem or is it offset? I had all of these problems with a pipe of mine and it was a horrible smoker until I finally fixed the problems.


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## Sovereign (Jun 17, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> Maybe you can try drying some tobacco really dry and see how that goes. Also for me, a layer of cake makes a big improvement because it doesn't leech away the heat from your tobac the way an uncaked chamber will. Also it could be the drilling on your pipe. Does the airway where it enters the chamber sit at a level with the bottom of the chamber. Is the airway an open draw or is it tight enough you can hear the airflow? Also does the airway where it leaves the shank sit in line with the airway where it enters the stem or is it offset? I had all of these problems with a pipe of mine and it was a horrible smoker until I finally fixed the problems.


I'll try drying out the tobac and seeing what happens, though I don't think it's too moist since most of what I have I got from the newbie sampler thread. But as for the other questions, I believe they are good pipes. From what you described, they fit the bill. I think the problem is mostly likely my packing as I can't seem to get it right


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Sovereign said:


> I still can't get the hang of packing and lighting right. I've done a good bit of reading and tried various ways to pack and light but just can't seem to get it right. Any advice?


I mostly fill with the three-stage method; it works fine for me. I agree with Joe that erring to a too-loose pack is easier to correct.

This may sound a little silly but a shiny lighter helped me get tobacco packing and lighting tuned in. I use a chrome-finish Zippo; immediately after lighting the pipe I can angle it over the bowl and use it like a mirror during the first few puffs to see exactly how even the burn is. It clearly shows if the initial light is burning evenly across the top of the bowl (good packing technique) or not. The trick showed me the error of my ways pretty clearly.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

As a novice, my biggest problem is that I allways end up with, say, half a teaspoon full of tobacco in the bottom, that wont keep lit!?p


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Phlegmatic said:


> As a novice, my biggest problem is that I allways end up with, say, half a teaspoon full of tobacco in the bottom, that wont keep lit!?p


It could be the pipe airhole location or, more likely, tobak that is too damp. Or - sometimes dottle just happens with given combinations of pipe and tobacco (but half a teaspoon sounds excessive). Go back to item #1, above. Airhole low and centered? If so, proceed to #2, etc. Dry enough tobacco? #3 - pipe not packed too tightly? Easy draw before you light or is the bowl overstuffed and too hard to draw on?

If your smokes are running a bit wet, dry the tobak more; and don't hesitate to swab with a pipe cleaner at the hint of a gurgle.

I had one pipe after another that did the same darn thing. I dunno why, but after a several months of haphazard procedure I starting paying more attention to the details of packing/lighting towards keeping an even burn. Suddenly most of my bowls began smoking down to ash with ony a couple of tamps from start to finish; part of it might be that my pipes began showing some decent cake, too.

Work on these things knowing they all fit together in the end. Take two aspirin and call back in a year.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Thank you Mr Moo, I have now put out some of the Caledonian "red" to dry, that I will have for my evning smoke. And I have also cleaned the pipe I will use. I was very thorough, bent several pipe cleaners and twisted them to get a wider cleaner. There was some gunk to clean out...


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Phlegmatic said:


> ... There was some gunk to clean out...


You know, Phl'ic, if you're using a briar and not letting it dry out properly between smokes then the bottom of the bowl gets swampy (soggy). A wet pipe bowl would contribute to a bad burn at the end of a bowl.

If you're overworking a briar you might consider a meerschaum to back it up.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Thanks, I have realized that to be a problem. Yet I havent been able to find enough pipes I like, so I only have 3 atm! Im working on the pipe collecting bit though... :tu


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## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

Phlegmatic said:


> Thanks, I have realized that to be a problem. Yet I havent been able to find enough pipes I like, so I only have 3 atm! Im working on the pipe collecting bit though... :tu


My problem is the opposite...too many pipes I like.
I started in early April and I'm up to 58 pipes. 
I better slow down or add a room to the house.


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## Tech Theatre Man (Aug 6, 2008)

Hermit said:


> I'm up to 58 pipes.
> I better slow down or add a room to the house.


Geez!!! Hey, why not? :tu


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Hermit said:


> My problem is the opposite...too many pipes I like.
> I started in early April and I'm up to 58 pipes.
> I better slow down or add a room to the house.


Ive been buying 5 pipes the last 2,5 weeks, two were useless tho...But if I keep up the speed, I too will have 58 pipes soon! 

Now, after my evning smoke I can without hesitation claim my problem is a wet pipe! I emptied the remains that did not want to stay lit, and it were soggy and charred...Guess I´ll have to get some corncob pipes for now!


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

I just noticed that this pipe I´ve been using today, a Hilson, has a conical tobacco chamber. Is that someting that greatly contributes to dampness?


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

Phlegmatic said:


> I just noticed that this pipe I´ve been using today, a Hilson, has a conical tobacco chamber. Is that someting that greatly contributes to dampness?


I don't think the shape of the chamber would cause this, more likely a drilling/alignment issue on the airhole and/or shank and/or stem. Ideally, airflow should be even down the bowl (airhole alignment at the bottom) so you get an even light/burn across the entire top of the bowl. Then the air flow should be as straight and smooth as possible into the stem. Any constrictions, expansions, obstructions et al will disrupt the airflow and could cause condensation (gurgle).

Low end aka machine-made pipes usually have problems in these areas, some are fixable if you take a drill to it. Hand made pipes obviously someone has taken the effort to do this for you, and thereby is its higher cost.

Also, as a noobie one tends to draw too hard or too often, making the burn too hot and also creating condensation (even though the pipe may be just fine). And all briar pipes do need to dry out, if you have a soggy mess you probably want to let that puppy sleep a couple of days.

Get some cheap cobs to fill in, easiest solution p


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

RJpuffs said:


> I don't think the shape of the chamber would cause this...
> p


I don't mean this at all as a criticism of your comment, R'uffs, but it gave me pause to wonder about smoking qualities of the conical bowl in general.

I'll note, anecdotally, that I am the owner/operator of two dublins with conical bowls. They are both _very_ good smokers. They were the first pipes that regularly turned tobacco to 100% ash for me. One is an older (handmade) Tinsky/ASP and the other a (production) Savinelli. The proportions of the bowls are radically different. The ASP is tall and narrow compared to a wide, shorter bowl on the Sav. While this makes the Sav a little harder to light evenly*, they've both been more-or-less dottle-free since they broke in.

I'm not sure what all this has to do with the price of tobacco in Yenidje, except item #1 in post #1 says to to select a properly made pipe to get a good start on painless puffing. While I've had good results with many pipes and pipe shapes this makes me wonder if others get noticeably better burns from manufactured (or cake-created) conical bowls. I could imagine a few reasons why this would be the case.

* a little harder is an understatement. A wide tobacco chamber is definitely harder for me to start evenly. It also takes a lot of power-puffing to get it going which makes enough smoke to set off an EPA air quality alert in the next county. Narrower chambers are probably better for rookies when it comes to pipe selection. A big 1" wide bowl looks dramatic but a 3/4" wide bowl is easier to pack, light evenly and smoke, sez I.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Today I havent had time to smoke alot. Not that I intend to smoke alot, but it was not more than the reamins (the "half a teaspoon") in the bottom, from last time I used my Nörding pipe. And now my evening smoke, that also was Caledonian "red" tobacco. 

I might be making some progress?! I noticed that I got a sizzling sound at the last part of the bowl. And that of course means the heat causes water to boil off. It didnt go out as often. But water vapour can only do harm, so I did have to relight quite a few times...:gn

I will pay more atteniton to the initial lighting next time! I think this can be very crucial; if there is an unlightend part, it will have less resistance and draw in air, which contains moisture.

Pipe smoking is a lot like shooting a muzzleloader, every part of the process must be done right; or u gonna have to pull the ball and start over...


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

Mister Moo said:


> I don't mean this at all as a criticism of your comment, R'uffs, but it gave me pause to wonder about smoking qualities of the conical bowl in general.
> 
> I'll note, anecdotally, that I am the owner/operator of two dublins with conical bowls. They are both _very_ good smokers. They were the first pipes that regularly turned tobacco to 100% ash for me. One is an older (handmade) Tinsky/ASP and the other a (production) Savinelli. The proportions of the bowls are radically different. The ASP is tall and narrow compared to a wide, shorter bowl on the Sav. While this makes the Sav a little harder to light evenly*, they've both been more-or-less dottle-free since they broke in.
> 
> ...


Some of my (meager) collection of pipes have tapered (conical) bowls of varying extents. I have not noticed any difference in lighting or smoking these, at least attributable to the shape of the chamber. In pipes that forced me to "power puff", I simply drilled out the airhole and/or the stem until I got a good draw.

"When in doubt, drill it out" :tu


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## EvanS (Dec 29, 2006)

Mister Moo said:


> * a little harder is an understatement. A wide tobacco chamber is definitely harder for me to start evenly. It also takes a lot of power-puffing to get it going which makes enough smoke to set off an EPA air quality alert in the next county. Narrower chambers are probably better for rookies when it comes to pipe selection. A big 1" wide bowl looks dramatic but a 3/4" wide bowl is easier to pack, light evenly and smoke, sez I.


And don't forget the charring light. Wonderous things happen after you (1) take few good solid puffs the get a good char all across the top of the bowl (2) lightly tamp just to tidy things up (3) let the pipe set for a couple of minutes while you close up you tins, pour your ale or watch you coffee cool and (4) relight your tindered bowl, which is completely cool but just itching to have flame put to it again now that it's had a chance to breathe.

I always think a charring light is a good idea, but wetter tobac and/or a wide bowl REALLY benefit form this. Plus to me this is part of the beauty of the ritual known as pipe smoking. It's another step away from "grabbing a smoke". It's part of what really attracts me to the pipe, aside from flavors. The tobacco prep, the drying the rubbing, the studious packing, the char, the rest, the smoke...the contemplation. It's ALL part fo connecting the head bone to the neck bone.

But really....I mostly can't believe that I got referenced in the first post


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

EvanS said:


> And don't forget the charring light...
> 
> ...I got referenced in the first post


So then. Two mistakes. Heh heh.


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## dillonmcmurphy (Aug 5, 2008)

Very nice Moo. Very good info.


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## jlbst49 (Sep 11, 2005)

I think the important point to make (since Ive only been smoking pipes for about 8 months) is that there are LOTS of ways to pack, light, tamp, etc. The thing is to keep trying until you find a method that works for you. 
...
I've tried lots of techniques Ive read on forum including the Frank method, which didnt work great for me... But it didnt hurt to try either.

Jeff


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## dillonmcmurphy (Aug 5, 2008)

jlbst49 said:


> I think the important point to make (since Ive only been smoking pipes for about 8 months) is that there are LOTS of ways to pack, light, tamp, etc. The thing is to keep trying until you find a method that works for you.
> ...
> I've tried lots of techniques Ive read on forum including the Frank method, which didnt work great for me... But it didnt hurt to try either.
> 
> Jeff


I agree. There are many ways especially to pack your tobacco, and if you find a way that works great for you than use it. With that said, from what I have seen there are some pretty shoddy packing techniques out there. But I don't like to call it "packing" anyway. In the words of Mister Moo, it should be refered to as loading, filling, or preparing. Packing has a bit of a negative conotation in this context in my opinion since it almost infers that you are compacting your baccy in your pipe. Anyway, happy puffing everyone!


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Perhaps I´m too cheap or something, but I have this fascination with smoking the pipe to the bottom. I want nothing left but some ashes! Problem is that I get ashes in my mouth! Is this why they make filter pipes?


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

Does new pipes need to rest longer tha broken in ones? I think this Nördning Ive got tastes awful now, even though its been in abeyance for two days?


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2008)

Phlegmatic said:


> Perhaps I´m too cheap or something, but I have this fascination with smoking the pipe to the bottom. I want nothing left but some ashes! Problem is that I get ashes in my mouth! Is this why they make filter pipes?


The pipe will tell you that its done before you suck ash.. At the end of a bowl the draw will creep a while then slam open. If you stop just before the draw is wide open you can prevent a mouth coated in ass (so sorry) ash.

Dottle on..


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

Phlegmatic said:


> Perhaps I´m too cheap or something, but I have this fascination with smoking the pipe to the bottom. I want nothing left but some ashes! Problem is that I get ashes in my mouth! Is this why they make filter pipes?


Oddly I never get "ashed" and I do smoke it down to last dreg of baccy. Dottle? Dottle? We don' need no steenkin' dottle!

I don't tamp OR use a pipe cleaner when its down to the last 15 minutes of the bowl. Anything that wobbles the balance of the loaded tobacco could cause it to drop into the airhole.


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## Phlegmatic (Aug 1, 2008)

thx guys!

heres a very good beginner instruction! (his my favorite on youtube) :


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## JacksonCognac (Nov 12, 2007)

Another quality post by Mr. Moo - I hope this thread finds its way into the FAQ sticky.


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## dustinhayden (Feb 4, 2006)

Good info! Thanks!


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